The bus of ‘Suprobhat Paribahan’ that recently ran over a student of the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) was being driven by its conductor.

Sirajul Islam, designated driver of the bus, was detained by the traffic police in the Banshtala area of Shahjadpur for running over Synthia Islam Mukta (20), a student of Mirpur Girls' Ideal Laboratory College, around 7:20am on 19 March.

After the police held the driver, the conductor, Md Yasin Arafat, took the wheel and ran over Abrar, a first-year honours student of the IR department at BUP, in Nodda area near Bashundhara Gate on the same day.

The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) disclosed this at a press briefing to announce the arrest of the conductor yesterday. Abdul Baten, an additional commissioner of the DB police, disclosed the matter to The Independent. “Md Yasin, the conductor, was driving the bus during the accident and he does not have a driving licence,” he said.  “After the first accident, we arrested Sirajul and found that the vehicle was being driven by Yasin at the time of the second accident,” he added.

Yasin was picked up from Chandpur and the bus helper, Md Ibrahim, from Dhaka’s Madhya Badda yesterday, sources said.

“Yasin took the wheel and drove away swiftly to avoid seizure of the vehicle after the traffic police arrested the original bus driver, Sirajul, for running over Mukta. In fact, the bus owner had instructed the conductor to flee the scene with the vechicle over phone as he feared the vehicle would be vandalised by people,” said Abdul Baten.  But the conductor hit Abrar Ahmed near the Bashundhara gate. He and the helper managed to flee the scene immediately after the accident. “Yasin has alerady been handed over to the court. After he gives a statement under Section 164, we’ll issue a charge-sheet in this regard within a month,” Abdul Baten said.

Our Sylhet Correspondent adds: The driver and his assistant of the bus that killed Wasim Afnan, a fourth-year student of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Department at Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU), were placed on a 5-day remand each in a murder case yesterday.

Moulvibazar Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Kazi Bahauddin passed the order after police produced two of the three accused at the court with a 10-day remand plea.  While accused driver Jewel and assistant Musuk were arrested on the same night the accident took place, the third accused, supervisor Sebul, still remains fugitive. SAU Proctor Prof Dr Mrittunjay Kundu filed the case with Moulvibazar Model Police Station on March 25 accusing three after the victim’s family declined to file any case in connection.

SAU students, meanwhile, concluded their 3-day protest at Shahi Eidgah Maidan of the city yesterday demanding strict punishment for the accused.  Wasim Afnan, 22, of Rudra village in Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj, was crushed to death by a bus of ‘Udar Paribahan’ after its helper reportedly pushed him off the vehicle at Sherpur in sadar upazila of Moulvibazar distriact on March 23 afternoon.